


Boundaries

by Seascribe



Category: due South
Genre: Bondage, Comment Fic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Safewords
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-13
Updated: 2013-12-13
Packaged: 2018-01-04 11:49:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1080665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seascribe/pseuds/Seascribe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fraser and Kowalski decide to surprise Vecchio for his birthday.  Things don't go as well as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boundaries

**Author's Note:**

> For a prompt by Muccamukk.

Vecchio's birthday is on Tuesday, first one since the three of them started this thing together. They're spending the actual day with his family, big party, cake, all that stuff that Vecchio pretends he only puts up with for his Ma's sake but that he secretly loves.

The weekend before, though, that's all theirs, just the three of them, and Ray's got big plans for it. He runs the idea past Fraser first, because he wants to make sure Fraser's okay with it and because Fraser will know if Vecchio'd go for it. Ray doesn't wanna mess anything up.

"I think--" Fraser licks his lips. "Yes, I think Ray would be quite enthusiastic about that idea."

"You're sounding pretty enthusiastic yourself, buddy," Ray teases. "Guess we know what you're getting for your birthday."

So Saturday afternoon, Vecchio's out getting the Riv detailed--Fraser's birthday gift to him--and Ray is spread out on their bed while Fraser methodically ties his wrists and ankles to the bedframe, quizzing him the whole time on whether or not he can feel his fingers, does he remember the safeword and the non-verbal signal, is he comfortable.

"I'm good," Ray says, wriggling around a little, testing the restraints. Fraser hadn't fucked around.

"They're quick-release hitches," Fraser explains. "If you decide that you want to stop, they can be untied in seconds." He demonstrates on the knot holding Ray's left arm in place.

"Greatness," Ray says. "You ready?"

"Did you want the blindfold and gag now, or would you prefer to wait?" Fraser asks, pulling them out. Ray'd been planning on using dish towels from the kitchen, but Fraser had convinced him that because this was for Vecchio, the visuals mattered, so they'd sprung for a couple of black silk scarves.

Ray thinks about it for a second. He and Stella had done a little bit of this kind of thing, but they'd never really gone in for the gags and blindfolds--he liked looking at her, and she liked to hear him. He imagines lying there waiting, with nothing but the sound of Vecchio's footsteps to go on, and shivers.

"Yeah," he says. "Go ahead and put 'em on."

Fraser is just finishing up when the lock on the front door clicks open. "Do you need anything else?"

Ray shakes his head. Fraser kisses his forehead above the blindfold, and goes to get Vecchio.

Ray's whole body is buzzing with anticipation, and he's a little embarrassed and a lot turned on and so, so desperate for somebody to touch him. He hears Fraser and Vecchio's footsteps out in the living room, Fraser talking too low to make out, Vecchio going on and on about the Riv.

And then they're right outside the bedroom door and Ray hears Fraser say, "We thought we might begin your birthday festivities a little early."

Vecchio chuckles. "Oh yeah? What exactly did you have in mind?" Fraser swings the door open, and Ray starts shaking, waiting to see what Vecchio does.

But nobody says anything and nobody's moving, and then Ray hears Vecchio suck in a shaky breath and say, "I can't--I don't want--"

Fraser's saying, "Ray, Ray, no, it's all right, you don't have to--" and that's all Ray gets over the pounding of his heartbeat, and he's still shaking, but now it's because something is wrong and he's powerless to do anything about it. He bangs hard on the bedframe.

"I'm coming, Ray," Fraser says immediately, and about half a second later, the ropes around Ray's wrists go slack and he's yanking off the blindfold and gag while Fraser frees his ankles. Vecchio's still standing in the doorway, his eyes huge and kind of unfocused and his face way too pale. Fraser's looking back and forth between them, his face tight with worry.

"I'm fine," Ray tells him, standing up. He grabs a bathrobe--Vecchio's--off the back of the bathroom door, and crosses the room, slow, hands turned palms out where Vecchio can see them. "You with us, Vecchio?"

Vecchio nods, looking anywhere but at Ray and Fraser. Fraser didn't bother with slow, coming right back to stand next to Vecchio, and Ray sees that Vecchio's got a white-knuckled grip on Fraser's hand.

"Maybe we should go sit down," Fraser says, and puts an arm around Vecchio's shoulders to steer him to the couch. Vecchio slumps down against the cushions, still hanging onto Fraser's hand, and stares up at the ceiling, sucking in deep, unsteady breaths.

Ray sits down next to him, not too close, but he puts his hand on Vecchio's knee, rubbing circles with his thumb over the soft fabric.

"We should have checked with you before we pulled something like that," he says. "I'm sorry."

"As am I," Fraser murmurs. "I treated the situation as I would have before you went undercover. I wasn't thinking about--I suppose I wasn't thinking at all."

"Can't blame you," Vecchio says. "I try not to think about it much either." He doesn't sound angry, just exhausted, and Ray scoots a little closer, reaching an arm over him and wrapping his fingers around Vecchio's wrist, brushing against Fraser's hand.

"People didn't say no to the Bookman," Vecchio says after a little while. Ray and Fraser don't say anything, but Ray feels Fraser's thumb start running gently over Vecchio's knuckles. "They couldn't say no to him. I didn't want that kind of control, you know? But I didn't have much more choice about that than they did, and eventually, I started to get used to it. It stopped being this awful, terrifying thing and just started being how things were. I stopped hating it." He goes quiet, and Fraser just keeps on holding his hand and Ray finds the spot in his wrist where his pulse is pounding, still all kinds of uneven, counting the beats in his head, trying to will them to steady out.

"Today was too much like that," Vecchio says finally. "I don't really want to talk about it. But I can't be in that kind of situation with you guys, okay? It's just--I can't."

"Okay," Ray says. "That's okay." Fraser makes a soft noise of agreement, pressing his lips against Vecchio's temple. Vecchio closes his eyes, and Ray leans a little closer to him, feeling Fraser do the same. "We gotcha."


End file.
